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KinderCare Learning Companies (KLC) Competitors

KinderCare Learning Companies logo
$3.76 +0.10 (+2.60%)
Closing price 05/21/2026 03:59 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$3.71 -0.04 (-1.20%)
As of 05/21/2026 07:55 PM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more.

KLC vs. STRA, LINC, AFYA, APEI, and GOTU

Should you buy KinderCare Learning Companies stock or one of its competitors? MarketBeat compares KinderCare Learning Companies with other companies and stocks that may be similar based on industry, sector, market capitalization, business model, investor interest, or shared news coverage. Companies and stocks commonly compared with KinderCare Learning Companies include Strategic Education (STRA), Lincoln Educational Services (LINC), Afya (AFYA), American Public Education (APEI), and Gaotu Techedu (GOTU). These companies are all part of the "schools" industry.

How does KinderCare Learning Companies compare to Strategic Education?

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) and KinderCare Learning Companies (NYSE:KLC) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk and earnings.

Strategic Education has a net margin of 10.21% compared to KinderCare Learning Companies' net margin of -15.48%. Strategic Education's return on equity of 8.78% beat KinderCare Learning Companies' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Strategic Education10.21% 8.78% 6.97%
KinderCare Learning Companies -15.48%8.22%1.70%

Strategic Education currently has a consensus target price of $87.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.39%. KinderCare Learning Companies has a consensus target price of $4.80, suggesting a potential upside of 27.83%. Given KinderCare Learning Companies' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe KinderCare Learning Companies is more favorable than Strategic Education.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Strategic Education
0 Sell rating(s)
2 Hold rating(s)
2 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.80
KinderCare Learning Companies
3 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
1.80

93.3% of Strategic Education shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.6% of Strategic Education shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of KinderCare Learning Companies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

In the previous week, KinderCare Learning Companies had 4 more articles in the media than Strategic Education. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for KinderCare Learning Companies and 2 mentions for Strategic Education. Strategic Education's average media sentiment score of 1.87 beat KinderCare Learning Companies' score of 0.81 indicating that Strategic Education is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Strategic Education
2 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Very Positive
KinderCare Learning Companies
2 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Strategic Education has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, KinderCare Learning Companies has a beta of 4.61, suggesting that its stock price is 361% more volatile than the broader market.

Strategic Education has higher earnings, but lower revenue than KinderCare Learning Companies. KinderCare Learning Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Strategic Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Strategic Education$1.27B1.41$126.61M$5.6613.92
KinderCare Learning Companies$2.73B0.16-$112.88M-$3.58N/A

Summary

Strategic Education beats KinderCare Learning Companies on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does KinderCare Learning Companies compare to Lincoln Educational Services?

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) and KinderCare Learning Companies (NYSE:KLC) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

In the previous week, KinderCare Learning Companies had 1 more articles in the media than Lincoln Educational Services. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for KinderCare Learning Companies and 5 mentions for Lincoln Educational Services. Lincoln Educational Services' average media sentiment score of 1.04 beat KinderCare Learning Companies' score of 0.81 indicating that Lincoln Educational Services is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Lincoln Educational Services
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
KinderCare Learning Companies
2 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Lincoln Educational Services has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, KinderCare Learning Companies has a beta of 4.61, suggesting that its share price is 361% more volatile than the broader market.

Lincoln Educational Services has higher earnings, but lower revenue than KinderCare Learning Companies. KinderCare Learning Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lincoln Educational Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Lincoln Educational Services$518.24M2.87$20M$0.7165.97
KinderCare Learning Companies$2.73B0.16-$112.88M-$3.58N/A

Lincoln Educational Services currently has a consensus price target of $52.50, indicating a potential upside of 12.08%. KinderCare Learning Companies has a consensus price target of $4.80, indicating a potential upside of 27.83%. Given KinderCare Learning Companies' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe KinderCare Learning Companies is more favorable than Lincoln Educational Services.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Lincoln Educational Services
0 Sell rating(s)
1 Hold rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.83
KinderCare Learning Companies
3 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
1.80

Lincoln Educational Services has a net margin of 4.11% compared to KinderCare Learning Companies' net margin of -15.48%. Lincoln Educational Services' return on equity of 15.25% beat KinderCare Learning Companies' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Lincoln Educational Services4.11% 15.25% 6.16%
KinderCare Learning Companies -15.48%8.22%1.70%

72.2% of Lincoln Educational Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.8% of Lincoln Educational Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of KinderCare Learning Companies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Lincoln Educational Services beats KinderCare Learning Companies on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does KinderCare Learning Companies compare to Afya?

KinderCare Learning Companies (NYSE:KLC) and Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, media sentiment, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

KinderCare Learning Companies has a beta of 4.61, indicating that its stock price is 361% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Afya has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, KinderCare Learning Companies had 6 more articles in the media than Afya. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for KinderCare Learning Companies and 0 mentions for Afya. KinderCare Learning Companies' average media sentiment score of 0.81 beat Afya's score of 0.50 indicating that KinderCare Learning Companies is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Overall Sentiment
KinderCare Learning Companies Positive
Afya Positive

KinderCare Learning Companies currently has a consensus price target of $4.80, indicating a potential upside of 27.83%. Afya has a consensus price target of $17.20, indicating a potential upside of 22.07%. Given KinderCare Learning Companies' higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe KinderCare Learning Companies is more favorable than Afya.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
KinderCare Learning Companies
3 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
1.80
Afya
0 Sell rating(s)
7 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.13

Afya has lower revenue, but higher earnings than KinderCare Learning Companies. KinderCare Learning Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Afya, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
KinderCare Learning Companies$2.73B0.16-$112.88M-$3.58N/A
Afya$662.01M1.99$134.77M$1.539.21

Afya has a net margin of 20.20% compared to KinderCare Learning Companies' net margin of -15.48%. Afya's return on equity of 17.94% beat KinderCare Learning Companies' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
KinderCare Learning Companies-15.48% 8.22% 1.70%
Afya 20.20%17.94%9.16%

88.0% of Afya shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of KinderCare Learning Companies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Afya shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Afya beats KinderCare Learning Companies on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does KinderCare Learning Companies compare to American Public Education?

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) and KinderCare Learning Companies (NYSE:KLC) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

American Public Education has a beta of 1.46, suggesting that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, KinderCare Learning Companies has a beta of 4.61, suggesting that its stock price is 361% more volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, KinderCare Learning Companies had 1 more articles in the media than American Public Education. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for KinderCare Learning Companies and 5 mentions for American Public Education. KinderCare Learning Companies' average media sentiment score of 0.81 beat American Public Education's score of 0.37 indicating that KinderCare Learning Companies is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
American Public Education
2 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
KinderCare Learning Companies
2 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

79.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of KinderCare Learning Companies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

American Public Education has higher earnings, but lower revenue than KinderCare Learning Companies. KinderCare Learning Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Public Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
American Public Education$648.86M1.46$31.56M$1.8927.30
KinderCare Learning Companies$2.73B0.16-$112.88M-$3.58N/A

American Public Education has a net margin of 6.13% compared to KinderCare Learning Companies' net margin of -15.48%. American Public Education's return on equity of 14.02% beat KinderCare Learning Companies' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
American Public Education6.13% 14.02% 7.61%
KinderCare Learning Companies -15.48%8.22%1.70%

American Public Education presently has a consensus target price of $59.13, indicating a potential upside of 14.61%. KinderCare Learning Companies has a consensus target price of $4.80, indicating a potential upside of 27.83%. Given KinderCare Learning Companies' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe KinderCare Learning Companies is more favorable than American Public Education.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
American Public Education
0 Sell rating(s)
2 Hold rating(s)
6 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.75
KinderCare Learning Companies
3 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
1.80

Summary

American Public Education beats KinderCare Learning Companies on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does KinderCare Learning Companies compare to Gaotu Techedu?

Gaotu Techedu (NYSE:GOTU) and KinderCare Learning Companies (NYSE:KLC) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings and profitability.

48.4% of Gaotu Techedu shares are held by institutional investors. 44.9% of Gaotu Techedu shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of KinderCare Learning Companies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Gaotu Techedu has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, KinderCare Learning Companies has a beta of 4.61, meaning that its share price is 361% more volatile than the broader market.

Gaotu Techedu has a net margin of -5.31% compared to KinderCare Learning Companies' net margin of -15.48%. KinderCare Learning Companies' return on equity of 8.22% beat Gaotu Techedu's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Gaotu Techedu-5.31% -21.09% -5.83%
KinderCare Learning Companies -15.48%8.22%1.70%

In the previous week, KinderCare Learning Companies had 5 more articles in the media than Gaotu Techedu. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for KinderCare Learning Companies and 1 mentions for Gaotu Techedu. KinderCare Learning Companies' average media sentiment score of 0.81 beat Gaotu Techedu's score of 0.00 indicating that KinderCare Learning Companies is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Gaotu Techedu
0 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
KinderCare Learning Companies
2 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

KinderCare Learning Companies has a consensus price target of $4.80, indicating a potential upside of 27.83%. Given KinderCare Learning Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe KinderCare Learning Companies is more favorable than Gaotu Techedu.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Gaotu Techedu
1 Sell rating(s)
0 Hold rating(s)
0 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
1.00
KinderCare Learning Companies
3 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
1.80

Gaotu Techedu has higher earnings, but lower revenue than KinderCare Learning Companies. Gaotu Techedu is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than KinderCare Learning Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Gaotu Techedu$878.98M0.50-$46.23M-$0.19N/A
KinderCare Learning Companies$2.73B0.16-$112.88M-$3.58N/A

Summary

KinderCare Learning Companies beats Gaotu Techedu on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding KLC and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
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Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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KLC vs. The Competition

MetricKinderCare Learning CompaniesSCHOOLS IndustryDiscretionary SectorNYSE Exchange
Market Cap$433.45M$1.44B$7.24B$22.95B
Dividend YieldN/A2.48%3.03%4.10%
P/E Ratio-1.0510.8918.4830.20
Price / Sales0.161.433.6423.86
Price / Cash2.0413.9414.7524.77
Price / Book0.942.303.694.71
Net Income-$112.88M$78.84M$238.23M$1.07B
7 Day Performance-7.17%1.71%1.69%1.51%
1 Month Performance9.96%1.33%12.26%-0.10%
1 Year Performance-68.45%-15.20%16.81%27.60%

KinderCare Learning Companies Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
KLC
KinderCare Learning Companies
4.7137 of 5 stars
$3.76
+2.6%
$4.80
+27.8%
-67.3%$433.45M$2.73BN/A43,700
STRA
Strategic Education
4.9578 of 5 stars
$78.74
+0.3%
$87.00
+10.5%
-10.8%$1.78B$1.27B13.916,134
LINC
Lincoln Educational Services
3.6071 of 5 stars
$52.02
+3.6%
$52.50
+0.9%
+118.5%$1.59B$518.24M73.272,640
AFYA
Afya
4.915 of 5 stars
$14.10
-0.6%
$17.20
+22.0%
-24.5%$1.33B$662.01M9.229,395
APEI
American Public Education
3.9037 of 5 stars
$52.91
-0.2%
$59.13
+11.7%
+83.6%$972.21M$648.86M27.995,841

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This page (NYSE:KLC) was last updated on 5/22/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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